Kategorie-Archiv: Head Gear

The Mr S Leather Fetters Strape Face Cage

Fetters Strap Face Cage

Vendor: Mr S Leather

Design

This piece of bondage gear is bit hard to describe. After a scene where I put it on an art major I once called it a “deconstructed hood” which has best approximation I could come up with yet. It is a system of over a dozen straps riveted together and attached to a collar to envelope the entire head. The straps around the head are made out of soft bridle leather to tightly follow the shape of the head. While the edges are burnished so there is no chafing, the straps’ bottom has not been treated! So especially with sweaty subs expect a lot of black lint on their head for the first few scenes. The folded garment leather straps as on the Bishop Head Harness would have been better. There are three vertical and two horizontal roller buckles on both sides. The have a large range of adjustability for a snug fit on almost every head size. The collar is made out of folded garment leather with a bridle leather strap on the outside. It is closed with a locking roller buckle.

The Blindfold and the Mouthcover with branded Mr S Snap Buttons

Around the eyes and the mouth the rivets have been replaced by snap buttons. The eyes can be covered with a blindfold made out of thicker bridle leather than the straps on the outside and soft garment leather with padding over the eyes on the inside. While the padding is good to even out the “high difference” of the different straps, it puts some pressure on the eyes and still lets some light in. The pressure situation gets better over time as the blindfold gets broken in more and more. But if you really want to isolate the sub visually, my advice – as always – is to blindfold your sub with a Mr S Ultra Blindfold before you strap the Face Cage around him. But since its padding is softer and the blindfold larger, even put over the cage’s straps the block-out will be more efficient. The mouth can be covered with a simple rectangle piece of bridle leather outside/ garment leather inside or apparently shut with a similar piece of leather featuring tongue suppressor. I learned about that option when I pulled up the product’s webpage to link at the end of the review. When I got this toy in September 2019, my Strap Face Cage did not come with it. So I am not sure if between then and now they added the option or if they forgot to add it to my order. Naturally, I cannot judge the play value of the tongue gag so please excuse this gap.

Detail of the collar’s D-ring

Another play feature are D-rings in the front of the collar and at the crown. As always with Mr S Leather they are sturdily secured under a piece of leather and riveted in place. They can take a beating and considerable force despite with a width of 23mm and a wire strength of 4,5mm being relatively small. The size is due to the straps’ width so they do not look out of proportion. Personally, I would have preferred them more “butch” but since they still do their duty excellently, there is no real reason to complain.

Playing with the Fetters Strap Face Cage

In the last review I also took a piece of bondage gear for people who easily overheat. This piece of head gear has the same properties. The straps are far enough apart for good ventilation and allow for enough sweat evaporation to cool the head in most situations.

Detail of the Roller Buckles to Adjust the Strap Cage

This makes the Strap Face Cage a good toy for outdoor scenes or events like Folsom Street fair. The head is especially prone to heat stroke so wearing a closed, especially black hood over the head can quickly lead to heat build-up – with fetal results. This limitation might disappoint some full coverage enthusiasts, but testees and play partners found some good fetish quality in the design. It has an archaic, Mad Max vibe. Exposing the sub while constraining him in a cage has great humiliation potential. Despite not covering all of the head it is a toy for a true leather fetishist. The soft leather straps hug the skins firmly yet smoothly and they smell like every piece of leather gear from Mr S leather.

Of course, this toy also offers great play capabilities. The D-rings placement is very thought-out. While the one at the front of the collar is pretty standard and naturally ideal for attaching a leash. The one at the crown makes the Strap Face Cage a good toy for tying the head down. If you make this anchor point the strictest on the head, there is almost no chance of the sub strangling himself. Since this hood does not restrict breathing, it is a great piece of gear to wear while sleeping. The soft leather in combination with the small and slim buckles on the side minimize the pressure for an actually mostly comfortable sleep. On the other hand of the softness spectrum, the rivets on the inside of the Strap Cage will intensify each blow dealt to the face! It actually made an experienced, masochist sub cry when his top gave him a backpfeiffe (it is a German regionalism you have to goolge).

The Strap Face Cage without the Blindfold and Mouth Cover

As most regular readers will know I am a sucker for sensation play. And this toy offered me a new perspective on this form of play. Usually sensation play is all about continuous stimulation. This twilight zone of stimulation and leather pressing into my skin drove me and my subs insane. We wanted to touch, the lick, the gentle blow of air to go on forever. But the was a strap in the way! Would the stimulation continue behind the strap or stop? This suspense, this play of tease and denial frustrated one sub so much that he safeworded. Of course, this only work with subs who have very sensitive skin and are highly receptacle for sensation play. For others, the space between the straps is too small to trigger the response to the induced sensations.

The Mr S Asylum Muzzle

Vendor: Mr S Leather

Construction

The main part of this muzzle is a 280x85mm sized piece of leather which has been thermally molded to hug the back of the head. In the center of it a 265mm long zipper embedded in another leather piece runs from the bottom. Both the zipper itself and the surrounding leather piece are framed with a piping to give the leather piece some structure while maintaining its flexibility and softness.

Detail of the Leather Piece which goes onto the Back of the Head

On both ends the leather base strap flows into two small straps on each side. Through rivets small flaps are formed which house normal buckles. The rivets also hold small leather patches in place which prevent hair getting caught in the buckles. Onto the upper buckles and anatomically shapes blindfold can be attached. The lower ones are for a mouth shield. Both pieces feature long straps so the Asylum Muzzle can accommodate almost every size of head from small to really large. Depending on the head shape and size the straps either run above or over the ears but since they are made out of soft leather, they are not distracting.

Front View of the Mr S Asylum Muzzle

All leather pieces and straps are made out of a double layer of soft garment leather. Except the lip which protects the hair from the zipper that is only a single layer with for unknown reasons the soft side faces the zipper and not the hair. Also, the little patches under the buckles are a single layer of a different type of leather that on some of my eight ones feel a bit “cardboardy”; I would have wished for a double layer of the same soft garment leather. But this is just the gear perfectionist inside me speaking. Especially the bottom does not feel the difference and the leather is soft enough to wrap around the head easily.

Playing with Asylum Muzzle

The bad news first: If you are not playing with only one person who has the muzzle adjusted to his size, putting it on is a bit of a pain in the ass. First, attach the blindfold in a medium setting. Then place the main body on the back of the head, wrap the blindfold around the head and place it in the ideal position over the eyes. Then fetter the loose straps n a setting that keeps that position and adjust the already fettered straps on the other side in the same setting. Finally, put the face shield over the nose and attach the straps so that it stays centered. Of course, you can do it the other way round but to block out the most light, it is better to put the mouth shield over the blindfold. Naturally, if the attachments are already adjusted correctly, simply open the zipper and put it on like you would with every other hood.

The Mouth Shield

Now that everything is nice and tight in place, let the fun begin. As complicated and annoying as the putting on process sounds, once the top got used to the design and figured out how to do it swiftly, putting on the different covers, adjusting the strap has the same sensual quality as adjusting my beloved Bishop Head Harness. The Asylum Muzzle is made out of the same soft material so like the head harness it needs no breaking in period but just envelopes the sub’s head as softly and tightly as you desire.

Detail of a Buckle

Unlike with the Bishop Head Harness, the covers are not attached using snap fasteners but are right on the skin. This makes the blindfold more effective and depending on the head shape comes close to the shielding of an Ultra Blindfold. The mouth shield almost feels like a leather glove covering the mouth and the nose, creating the immersion of good glove over mouth play. When breathing in, the soft leather is sucked towards the mouth and nose and restricting breathing just a little bit – similar to the Leather Bag Hood. Not enough to make you suffocate but just enough to remind you that you are confined.

Detail of the Rough Leather of the Zipper and Buckle Cover

Mr S offered the same two cover design in a full coverage hood, obviously called the Asylum Hood. The design is older and through padded eye covers and lacing in the back more extreme than the Asylum Muzzle. I had a chance to try out both and for several reasons chose the muzzle over the hood. First, I am a bit of a claustrophobe so I am more comfortable with the “limited” leather coverage compared to a full hood. The second reason follows out of the first one: The less coverage leaves the ears, part of the forehead, the front of the neck and the top of the head still accessible for reassuring pats and caressing, ear nibbling, choking and whispering. Third, especially at summer events like Folsom or when wearing other heavy gear like straitjackets, overheating can be a problem, especially at the head. The airiness of the Asylum Muzzle helps to prevent that to a certain degree.

Detail of the Zipper

If you look what I have written above, the Asylum Muzzle is a bit like a best of off my favorite Mr S head gear. And it truly is. Yes, it has some drawbacks like no d-rings to attach it to bondage points or restraints to it. But since the leather is so soft, you can easily put a collar around the neck after putting the muzzle on. Or even put another muzzle or head harness over it. If you are not using both covers and the sub is an active one, flinging around his head, the buckles flap around which can be annoying. But I still love the sensual qualities, the perfect equilibrium of isolation and confinement and accessibilities so much that I gladly overlook the weak points of an otherwise unique and great piece of bondage gear.